It was the publication
of Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico in
1711 which contributed greatly to Vivaldi’s
European reputation. Previous publications
had been printed in Venice with poor
technical print quality. But for the
1711 publication Vivaldi had the works
printed in Amsterdam, where the quality
of printing was higher.

But it wasn’t just
the improved technical quality of the
printing itself which brought Vivaldi
to the notice of his fellow composers.
The twelve concertos in the collection
have an appealing formal clarity. More
than that, though, they introduce what
we now think of as the Vivaldi sound.
The work’s title can be roughly interpreted
as "harmonic fire" and this
aptly describes the works’ effects on
the listener. He mixes energy, rhythmic
buoyancy and motor propulsion, with
melodic felicity and lyricism. Granted,
his harmonic effects can seem a little
schematic today but there is no doubt
that they are thrilling in execution.
Like Handel, Vivaldi was adept at creating
effects from little. In this set he
does include an occasional fugue to
show his academic credentials, but he
is just as at home in providing a far
simpler context for the virtuoso solo
line.

The set of twelve concertos
are laid out in four groups of three,
each group consisting of one concerto
for four violins, one concerto for two
violins and one concerto for violin
solo. Instrumentally the pieces are
varied, with a concertante cello part
cropping up in places and with two viola
parts.

The concertos work
well when performed with small forces
and on this disc the Accademia Bizantina
uses just six violins and draws the
soloists from this pool of players.
There are a number of modern instrument
performances available and anyone looking
for a luxurious beauty of string tone
should look elsewhere.

Ottavio Dantone and
his forces give crisp, lively performances,
full of rhythmic propulsion. Dantone
seems to prize crispness and articulation
over sheer beauty of string tone. Vibrato
seems to have been banished almost entirely,
even as a decoration. The results are
impressive and enthralling; they rather
carry you away with their intensity;
though I can imagine some listeners
finding the performances a little hard
driven. Mind you, the players can relax
in the slower movements and turn in
some playing notable for its sheer beauty,
within the parameters set by the performance
style.

At first sight the
playing has a wonderfully plangent tone,
with the soloists beautifully well balanced.
All four players are equally virtuosic
and the group manages the difficult
feat of balancing all four solo lines
in the four-part concertos so that the
works do sound like concerti grossi,
albeit bravura ones. These works in
particular receive infectiously toe-tapping
performances. Stefano Montanari plays
in all the concertos and is joined by
Fiorenza De Donatis in the double concertos.

Only on repeated listening
did I wonder about the lack of softness
in the playing; it all seems to have
a rather hard edge; there is élan
aplenty but something of a lack of tonal
warmth.

The playing has that
sort of intensity which has arisen in
Italian groups as a sort of counter
to the whiter English sound of the earlier
years of the authentic movement. But
if you turn to the Academy of Ancient
Music’s recording dating from the 1980s,
then Christopher Hogwood uses just one
instrument to a part with the whole
performance having a lightness of texture
lacking in this newer disc. On the plus
side of course, the soloists on the
Accademia Bizantina’s recording have
the benefit of some twenty years or
more of developments in the art of playing
this type of music in period style;
so that technically these performances
are brilliant.

Regarding the continuo,
Dantone mixes harpsichord, chamber organ,
archlute and baroque guitar, making
an appealing array of textures which
vary during the performances. It is
in this area where Dantone does seem
to be introducing a welcome element
of fantasy.

The concertos are split
between two discs, available separately;
so that you don’t have to invest in
the entire set. The concertos are split
uniformly between the discs, with concertos
one to six on disc one and concertos
7 to 12 on disc 2.

These performances
will not appeal to everyone, but I found
their sheer brilliance and rhythmic
impetus rather attractive. Perhaps you
would not want this as your only set,
but it is a very welcome release nonetheless.

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